


summer comes and winter fades (here we are just the same)

by Cones_McMurphy



Category: Single Parents (TV 2018)
Genre: (which I also listened to while I wrote this), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angie D'amato deserves to be happy and to be loved the way Will loves her, Angst, Breakups, F/M, Idiots in Love, Pining, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Valentine's Day, angie and will are in love guys, angie is an emotionally repressed disaster, but they're also dumb, my take on what could happen in upcoming episodes, the high romance of party planning, this started canon compliant but it took me so goddamn long to finish it that now it's, title from Please Don't Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Alpin, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22328191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cones_McMurphy/pseuds/Cones_McMurphy
Summary: It's Valentine's Day, and Will has big plans. But you know what they say, the best laid plans of mice and men...
Relationships: Will Cooper/Angie D'Amato, Will Cooper/Tracy Freeze
Comments: 25
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first Single Parents fic! I hope you guys like it!

The Coopers' kitchen table was covered in red and pink construction paper, Will was baking heart shaped sugar cookies, and Angie was leaned against his kitchen counter, watching Graham and Sophie make cards to handout in class, while bemoaning her own loneliness. It could only mean one thing: Valentine's Day. Technically, it wasn't Valentine's Day yet. It was the day  _ before _ Valentine's Day. But it was close enough, as far as Angie was concerned. Everyone on the planet seemed to be in a lovestruck daze already, especially Poppy and Douglas (barf), and although Will hadn't mentioned his plans with Tracy, Angie knew he had something special planned just by the stupid look on his face. Also he kept humming to himself, which was not only annoying, it was also unsettling. 

"Okay, I give." Angie sighed. "What are your big plans with Tracy tomorrow?" 

Will looked up from the cookie he was piping pink icing onto, and beamed. "Well, my friend, I'm so glad you asked. We're going classic for our first Valentine's Day together. Candlelit dinner, roses, red wine." 

"How disgustingly romantic. And boring." Angie stole an unfrosted cookie off of Will's cooling rack, popped it into her mouth whole. 

He rolled his eyes. "Look, maybe the dinner doesn't sound super exciting, but it's still going to be nice. Besides, the dinner doesn't have to be exciting when I've got the perfect gift." 

Angie swallowed the last of the cookie. "Oh yeah? Show me whatcha got, Cooper." 

"Fine." Will dug in his pocket, and pulled out a small, black box. It wasn't the right size for a ring, for which Angie was unexpectedly grateful. It seemed more like a box for a bracelet, or maybe some dangly earrings. 

"Jewelry," Angie nodded in approval, before grabbing the box out of Will's hands. "Can't go wrong there." 

"Actually--" Will started, as Angie opened the box. Her stomach dropped when she what was inside. It wasn't a piece of jewelry at all. It was a single, shiny, brass key. 

"You're giving Tracy a key..." Angie hesitated. "To your house?" She knew what this meant, of course she did, but she hoped she was wrong. God, she  _ really _ hoped she was wrong. 

"I'm going to ask Tracy to move in with me." Will said with a gentle, lovesick smile. Angie felt nauseous. Partially out of jealousy that she’d never admit, not even to herself, but mostly because Tracy's words from Thanksgiving still rang in her head:  _ I don't like Sophie. _

"Will..." Angie hesitated. Maybe Poppy was still right, and it didn't matter, maybe this didn’t change anything, maybe she shouldn't say anything. 

"Ange? Are you okay?" Will closed the box. "Aren't you going to say something?" 

Angie swallowed, and looked into Will's soft, trusting eyes. She could see him asking Tracy, and her rejecting him, or worse, Tracy saying yes, and eventually putting a strain on Will's relationship with Sophie. She knew Will. She knew that Sophie meant everything to him. She sighed. She had to tell him the truth. "Will, there's something I need to tell you about Tracy." 

"About Tracy?" Will cocked his head to one side. 

"Yeah," Angie took a deep breath. "You remember on Thanksgiving, when I told you that she'd said something I didn't like? And that I told you she'd said she was excited about Tony's turkey?" 

Will nodded slowly, uncertain. "Yeah...I remember." 

"The thing about that, is that, um. I was lying," Angie admitted. "At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. You and Tracy had--have--a good thing going, and I wasn't going to be the one to ruin it over something that might not have even mattered. But I think you need to know before you take such a big step." 

"Wh--What did she say?" Will looked almost terrified about what he was about to hear, and Angie realized that maybe she was being a little dramatic, but she was in too deep to backdown at that point. 

"She said that she doesn't like Sophie," Angie said. "She thinks Sophie is annoying." 

Will's eyes widened with disbelief, and then deflated with hurt. "She...She really said that?" 

"I'm sorry, Will." She stepped forward and gave him arm what she hoped was a comforting squeeze. "I really am." 

Will took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not ready to break up with Tracy over this. It's been a few months, maybe she's changed her mind. I mean, really, how can anyone dislike Sophie?" He shook his head. "I need to talk to her about it, though. Don't I?" 

Angie pursed her lips and nodded. "Yeah. You do." 

* * *

Will let out a long exhale before knocking on Tracy's door. A part of him wanted to chicken out before she answered, to just pretend Angie hadn't dropped the bomb she had. It would be easier. But that was just putting off the inevitable.

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interes--Oh," Tracy smiled. "Hey, Will. I wasn't expecting you. What's up?" 

"We need to talk. Can I come in?" 

Tracy stepped aside to allow Will into her home. "What's going on?" 

"Angie told me what you said to her on Thanksgiving," Will said. "She told me that you don't like Sophie." 

Tracy went quiet for a moment before responding. "Look, Will. Sophie is a great kid. But she's still a kid. Kids are annoying." 

Will frowned. "So, it's true?" 

Tracy nodded. "I'm not going to lie to you. But it's not like I hate Sophie, or I would ever do anything to hurt her." 

"I know, I know," Will put a hand up to stop her. 

"And I like you a whole hell of a lot," Tracy plowed on. "And I like what we have together. So why does it matter?" 

"Because...Because..." Will trailed off, pulled out the key, and handed it to Tracy. "It matters because I was going to ask you to move in with me, over dinner tomorrow night." 

Tracy opened the box and froze. "Oh my God." 

"But I'm not going to do that now. Because living with means living with Sophie." Will shook his head. "Sophie and I are a package deal, so if we're going to have a future together, it matters that you like her." 

Tracy closed the box and handed it back to him. "Then I guess we don't have a future together." 

Will stared down at the box in his hand. "Are we breaking up?" 

"Feels like it," Tracy nodded. 

"I'm sorry, Tracy," Will shoved the key back in his pocket. "I really wanted this to work." 

"I did, too," she said. "But I think I was just fooling myself." 

"Fooling yourself?" He furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" 

"I guess Angie didn't tell you  _ her _ secret from Thanksgiving," Tracy let out a sad laugh. 

"What are you talking about? What secret?" As much as it hurt to find out that Tracy didn't like Sophie, the possibility of Angie keeping a secret from him might've hurt more. 

Tracy rolled her eyes. "She's in love with you, Will. You can't tell me you don't see that." 

"Wh-In love with me? What are you talking about?" Will's brain couldn't even begin to process that. Angie was his best friend. She couldn’t be in love with him. 

"I'm talking about the way she looks at you, and the way you look at her. I didn't really want to see it, at first. I attributed it to the bond the two of you share over both being parents. But it's more than that." 

"I'm sorry, the way  _ I  _ look at  _ Angie _ ?" Will scoffed. "You're wrong, Tracy. I don't have feelings for her. She's my best friend." 

Tracy nodded. "Yeah. Your best friend that your parents thought was your girlfriend." 

"Tracy--" 

"Just leave, Will." Tracy opened the door. "I'll see you at work." 

Despite the fact that his brain was still buzzing with questions and confusing emotions, Will simply nodded and stepped out onto her porch without a fight. "See you at work." 

* * *

If there was one thing Angie expected on her doorstep at 9 PM the night before Valentine's Day, it definitely wasn't Will Cooper. But there he was, looking slightly worse for wear, but still managing a weak smile. 

"So...I talked to Tracy." Was all he had to say. She invited him in immediately, and guided him to her couch. 

"You broke up, didn't you?" 

He nodded. 

"I'm so sorry, Will." She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "And the day before Valentine's Day." 

He nodded again. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Angie offered, although she knew emotional support was far from her biggest strength. 

"Not really." Will leaned back into the couch cushions. "I mean, I don't want to talk about the break-up. There's nothing to talk about, not really. You know what she said." 

"Good point.” 

"But I do want to talk about something," Will said quietly, not making eye contact. 

"Okay..." Angie hesitated. "What do you want to talk about?" 

Will was quiet for a moment, seemingly gathering his courage, before just blurting it out. "Are you in love with me?" 

Angie was taken aback. "Am I  _ what _ ?" 

"Tracy said that you also had a secret at Thanksgiving. And that your secret was that you were in love with me." 

"Oh," Angie sighed in relief. Plausible deniability. "No, no. I never said that. Tracy just sort of assumed it, for some reason? I don't even know why, to be honest. I'm definitely not in love with you. You’re my best friend." 

"Oh," Will nodded. "Right. Of course." 

Angie awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. "Glad that's cleared up." 

"Definitely, yeah, me too." Will stumbled over his words, though Angie couldn’t imagine why. 

"Hey," Angie gave Will the most reassuring smile she could muster. "How about we hang out tomorrow night? Since we're both single now. We could have an anti-Valentine's Day. We can eat cheap, drugstore chocolate and watch  _ Joust _ ." 

Will smiled, really smiled. "I'd like that. Thanks, Angie." 

"Hey, what are best friends for?" 

"Good point." Will stood up from the couch. "I, uh. I should get going. Get back to Sophie. Sorry I got a little crazy." 

"No worries," Angie stood up, too. "If there’s one thing a D'amato can handle, it’s crazy." 

Will chuckled, and made his way to Angie's door, pausing before he got there, and reaching into his pocket. "Hey, Ange?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I want you to have this." He pushed the small black box into her hands. 

"You want to give me the key?" Angie swallowed. "A key to your house?" 

"Yeah," Will nodded. "I mean, I don't know what else I'm going to do with it, or who else I would trust with it." 

Angie smiled softly. "Thank you, Will." 

Will shrugged. "You never know. You might need it someday."

"Yeah," her voice was soft and quiet. "I might." 

They were silent for a moment, and Angie's heart raced in her chest. For a moment she wanted to throw caution to the wind and admit that Tracy was right. She wanted to kiss him and never stop, to wrap her arms around him and never let go. But she held herself back. She wasn't about to lose her best friend. 

Will cleared his throat, knocking them both out of their thoughts. "I should really be going now." 

"Right, yeah." 

"Goodnight, Angie." He was smiling again as he opened her front door. "And, hey, Happy Valentine's Day." 

Angie returned his smile. "Goodnight. Get home safe and stuff" 

And then he was gone, and she was still staring at the spot where he had stood seconds before, clutching the small black box. She let out a deep breath, and looked down at the box. She opened it, and traced the key inside with her index finger. 

"Happy Valentine's Day." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....I wrote more of this. I have the whole thing finished, but I decided it made the most sense to upload it in chapters, instead of all at once. I hope you guys like it! I'll post the next chapter in a couple of days.

It was about a week after Valentine's day, the morning air was crisp and cold, and it was the kind of day where the sky threatened rain, but never made good. Angie was, predictably, the last to show up for drop-off at school. Graham headed into the classroom, and Angie headed over to where the other parents were waiting. Poppy was standing next to Douglass, not-so-subtly holding his hand. Miggy was next to her, holding baby Jack (who was really getting so big), and then there was Will, standing next to Miggy, smiling and laughing. 

He looked good. She  _ hated _ that. How dare he. The audacity. 

"Hey, guys!" She greeted, quashing those thoughts deep,  _ deep  _ down, in a deep, dark, metaphorical hole where the rest of her emotions lived. "What's up?" 

"Miggy was just staring at our children's teacher," Douglass answered. 

"C'mon, man," Miggy groaned. 

Will turned away from Miggy, to face Angie, flashing her that overly cheerful smile of his. "How are you this morning?" 

"Thinking about moving to a tropical island somewhere and changing my name. You?" 

He rolled his eyes. "Pronstroller just announced a class party next week, so I'm trying to figure out what to bring." 

"A party? For what?" 

Will shrugged. "Dunno." 

"Hm, well. Good luck with that," Angie smirked. "I have my own party to plan." 

"You're having a party?" Miggy grinned. "Dope." 

"No, no, I'm planning Graham's birthday party," Angie sighed. "He turns ten next month." 

"And you have to plan that?" Poppy laughed. "We all know you're just going to buy a cake from the grocery store." 

"Haha." Angie rolled her eyes. "I actually saved up some money this year, so I want to do something special for Graham." 

"That's sweet," Will was smiling at her in a way she didn't quite understand. "I told you that you still had time to plan a kickass party." 

"Yeah, well, it would be sweeter if I knew what I was doing." Angie sighed. "It's a little overwhelming. I don't want to accidentally plan the worst birthday party in history." 

"I can help you!" Will offered without hesitation. "I'm a great party planner. And I have a lot of free time now that Tracy and I broke up." 

"That would be so great," Angie agreed, ignoring the mention of Tracy, like the emotional landmine she knew it was. "Can you come to my house on Saturday?" 

"I wouldn't miss it."

* * *

Will opened the door to the D'amato home without even bothering to knock and headed for the kitchen where he knew Angie would be. She was leaning on the counter, eyes focused intently on her laptop. 

"Alright, I'm here, and I brought you a coffee," Will set a styrofoam coffee cup on the counter near Angie. "Ready to plan a kick-ass birthday party?" 

"Ooh, you got the good stuff," Angie grinned at the cup in her hands, and then looked up at Will. "You can leave now." 

Will smirked and checked his watch in an exaggerated manner. "I've been here 30 seconds, Ange. We do actually have to do some planning." 

"I know, I know. I'm just worried." She took a long sip of her coffee. "I really want it to be perfect." 

Will rolled his eyes. "Angie. It's going to be amazing. Don't you remember Sophie's last birthday? You're talking to a party planning master." 

She put down the coffee cup. "That was a pretty good party." 

Will smiled, "Of course it was, it's me," and pulled the laptop towards himself. "Now, let's see what you have so far. Have you picked out a theme yet?" He glanced down at the screen, and saw a party supply website open to a page full of different balloon options. 

"A theme?" 

"Ange, please don't tell me you were going to pick out balloons before you even settled on a theme." 

Angie bit her lip sheepishly. "Maybe? Isn't the theme just, y'know, Kid's Birthday Party?" 

"I know you know that 'Kid's Birthday Party' isn't a theme." Will chuckled. "How about we brainstorm a little? Maybe start with a list of Graham's favorite things, and go from there." 

"Oh God," Angie shook her head, but pulled a beaten up notepad and a pen missing its cap out of a drawer. "You're going to make this a Thing, aren't you?" 

Will nodded, and took the pen and pad from her. "Oh, most definitely." 

"Ugh." 

"I'm ignoring that." Will gestured with the pen. "So. Graham's favorite things. Roller Skating. Singing. Puzzles. Baseball." Will wrote each one down as he said them. He looked up when he noticed that Angie wasn't saying anything. "Angie? Earth to Angie? You're gonna have to contribute some ideas, too, y'know." 

Angie blinked and shook her head. "Sorry, I...I didn't realize you knew so much about Graham." 

"I've known the kid for almost two years now," Will shrugged. "I pay attention." 

"Yeah," Angie smiled. "You do." 

There was a pause as their eyes met, and Will wasn't sure what to say, or what the look she was giving him even meant. "So," he cleared his throat. "Any other ideas for themes?" 

"Um." Angie bit her lip. "Space? He and Sophie had such a great time at Lance Bass Space Camp." 

Will put down his pen. "That's the theme, Angie. We can get those glow-in-the-dark stars and stick 'em up all over the walls, and we can get purple balloons and pretend they're nebulas. We can even do one of those cool mirror glaze galaxy cakes." 

"Oh, man. Those cakes are so cool." Angie grinned. “I love watching those videos with the disembodied hands on Facebook.” 

“Everyone loves those, Ange," Will laughed. “And Graham will love his cake.” 

Angie’s smile faltered. “I hope so. I hope he loves everything.” 

“Hey,” Will put a hand on her shoulder. “This is going to be the best kid’s birthday ever, I promise.” 

“Yeah?” Angie’s lips started to turn up at the corner. “Even better than Sophie’s Downton Abbey themed birthday party?” 

Will laughed. “Sophie’s will be a close second.” 

Angie was smiling again. “Thanks, Will.” 

_ Anything to see you smile _ , he thought. “Of course,” He said, “What are friends for?” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a new chapter! will destroys his kitchen.

A week later, the party planning was in full swing, and Angie was surprisingly calm. Normally, taking on a project like that would've overwhelmed her and she would've given up. But with Will helping her, it was almost easy. He always seemed to know what to do, in every situation. He kept her from panicking at the notion of two dozen 9 and 10 year olds destroying her house on a cake-induced rampage. He helped her plan out how to get a few party planning things done each day. Angie couldn't have been more grateful for his help. But then, she shouldn't have been surprised. That was Will. Always there when you needed him. 

At that moment, they were sealing and stamping invitations. Will was sealing them, and Angie was stamping them. It was their system and it worked out great. The invitations were also great. They'd found some black construction paper, and sprinkled it with glitter for stars. Angie was pretty damn proud of them, honestly. 

"Alright, that's ten done, seventeen to go." Angie said proudly, placing a newly stamped envelope onto the stack of finished invitations. "High Five me, bro." 

Will obliged, of course, with a laugh and a smile that brought warmth bubbling into Angie's chest. As their hands connected, Angie noted that his hand was surprisingly soft and warm. 

"Dude," Angie raised an eyebrow, after they brought their hands back down. "Why is your hand so soft?" 

Will's eyes lit up. "It's my new moisturizer. It's  _ incredible _ . Do you want to try some?" 

"Maybe after we finish these invitations?" Angie held up an unsealed envelope and waved it in Will's face. 

"Good call." He took the unsealed envelope from her, and sealed it. "We should get these invites out tomorrow, or else the whole party planning flow will be thrown off." 

"Oh?" Angie smirked and took the envelope back to stamp it. "The party planning flow?" 

"Yes! The party planning flow! It's a thing! You have to plan things in the right order or else everything falls apart. Trust me." He picked up another envelope and sealed it quickly. 

Angie shook her head and took the envelope. "Of course I trust you, Will." 

"Thanks, Ange."

She slapped a stamp on the envelope and dropped it on the pile. "I trust you to be a giant dork!"

"Oh, funny." Will rolled his eyes. "I may be a dork, but I'm also right." 

* * *

Graham's birthday party was two weeks out, and it was a Saturday, and that meant it was time for cake tasting. Will had gathered brochures from several bakeries around town, and was headed to Angie's to go over them with her. 

This time, he did knock. She opened the door, and Will's words caught in his throat. She was wearing blue denim overalls over beat up red and white plaid, and her hair was pushed back in a purple bandana, and she looked a little sweaty, but she also looked... _ adorable _ ? Will shook his head.  _ Where did that come from?  _

"Hey, Ange!" He finally said. "What, uh, what are you up to?" 

"Cleaning." She shrugged and looked down at herself. "This is my cleaning outfit." 

"Right." Will nodded.  _ Adorable,  _ that voice in his head said again. "Well, can you take a break? I brought some bakery brochures. I thought we could ask around about that galaxy cake." 

"Oh." Angie frowned. "Thanks, Will, but I already did some research of my own, and there's no way I can afford a cake from a fancy bakery. I think Poppy was right." 

"Right about what?" 

"About me buying a cake from the grocery store." She frowned and moved to close the door. "I should get back to cleaning." 

"Wait, wait," Will put a hand out to stop the door. "What if I made the cake?" 

"Excuse me?" Angie opened the door again. "You? You would do that? Wait, you  _ can _ do that? It's a mirror glaze cake." 

"Okay, first of all, you've had my bake sale treats, you know how good I am. I think I can handle a mirror cake. Second, of course I would do that for you. I know how important this party is to you." 

Angie smiled softly. "I...thank you, Will."

* * *

Alright, so. Making a galaxy cake was extremely hard. Will had the cake part down, and the frosting even, but the glaze was a whole other thing. Everytime it either came out too thin, or clumped up, or wasn't shiny enough. It had been hours, he was out of gelatin sheets, and Sophie would be home from school any minute. Will frowned and looked over his kitchen. Every surface was covered with clumps of sticky glaze, icing dripped down the cabinets, and somehow there was food coloring on the ceiling. In short, it was a disaster. 

What an absolute failure. 

Will's stomach twisted with a familiar anxiety. What was he going to tell Angie? She'd be so disappointed if Graham didn't have the perfect birthday party, but there was no way Will could make this cake. He ran a hand through his hair, before remembering that his hands were covered in glaze. Which was now in his hair. 

"Darn it." 

He slumped against the kitchen counter with a resigned frown. So much for being a master baker. 

The front door opened, then, and Sophie came in, smiling brightly. She was holding yet another A+ test. She stopped short at the sight of the kitchen. Her smile faded into horrified confusion. "What happened here?" 

"I tried to make a mirror glaze cake for Angie, for Graham's birthday," Will shook his head. "It is a  _ lot  _ harder than it looks." 

Sophie smirked. "Why don't you just buy one?" 

"Because I said I'd make one." 

"Okay, then, why didn't you say you'd buy one?" Sophie rephrased her question. 

"Because I'm an idiot," Will groaned. "Now, go do your homework." 

"Alright, good luck with your cake." And with that, Sophie bounded towards her room, leaving Will alone with his thoughts. 

The girl had a point, honestly. He could've just as easily offered to pay for a cake from one of the bakeries, but for some reason the words "I can make it" were out of his mouth before he'd stopped to think. In the moment, all he was thinking about was how disappointed Angie was that she wasn't going to be able to give Graham the perfect party, how deeply she'd frowned as she recounted Poppy's words. All he wanted to do was make it better. He always wanted to make things better for Angie. He wanted her to be happy. 

In fact, he realized he wanted Angie to be happy more than he wanted most things. More than he wanted to be a famous weatherman. More than he wanted his parents to stay together. Angie's happiness was second only to Sophie's. He wanted Angie to be happy so much that he'd destroyed his kitchen to bake her a cake. And he'd chewed out her ex at the drive-thru of a bad fast food restaurant. And he'd thrown her that party for her 30th birthday. And he knew he'd do all those things again and again, because...because…

_ "I'm talking about the way she looks at you, and the way you look at her….I attributed it to the bond the two of you share over both being parents. But it's more than that."  _

Tracy was right. Tracy was completely right. Will was in love with Angie. Completely, head-over-heels, crazy-in-love with her. His best friend. His completely platonic best friend who had assured him multiple times that she felt nothing romantic for him at all, whatsoever. 

“Oh,  **_fuck_ ** .” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter! will is acting weird....HMMMM...

Angie's hair was still damp from the shower, she was wearing sweats and an old band t-shirt, and she had just turned on the TV to enjoy a lazy Saturday morning while Graham spent the day with his dad, when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID, and smiled. She muted the television, and answered the call.

"Hey, Will. What's up?" 

His voice was rather strained. "So, you know how I said I'd bake Graham's cake?" 

Angie sighed. She knew where this was going. Grocery store cake. "Mirror glaze is harder than you thought it would be?" 

Will let out a long exhale. "Yeah. I completely destroyed my kitchen yesterday. So, I was thinking. Maybe I could just pay for a cake from one of those bakeries." 

"Will..." Angie hesitated. Those cakes were expensive. But, she rationalized, she was fully prepared to let him invest hours of his time into baking, so really, how was this any different? "Yeah, yeah okay." 

"Great!" She could practically hear his grin. "I know today is Derek's day with Graham, so how about I pick you up in an hour and we go do some cake tasting." 

"Hmmm, I don't know..." Angie pretended to think about it. "There's an all day Law & Order marathon on." 

"Ange." 

"I'm kidding!" Angie laughed. "I'll see you then." 

They hung up, and Angie immediately turned off the TV and headed into her bedroom to change. She needed to wear something that said, "I can definitely afford this cake." By the time Will arrived, she had settled on dark wash jeans and one of her work blouses. She answered the door with her purse already in hand.

"Hi, Angie!" Will greeted with a bright smile. 

"Hey, ready to go get some cake?" 

Will nodded and hesitantly put his arm out for her to take. "Absolutely." 

A few hours later they were in their third bakery of the day, and Angie was almost sick of cake tasting. Sure, they were all delicious, but after a point, they all tasted the same. On top of that, Will was acting weird and awkward, and she had no idea why. That probably bothered her the most. She wanted to ask him about it, but there was never a good time. 

"So, this bakery has an incredible chocolate mousse cake," Will said. "Do you think mousse and the mirror glaze is too much going on in one cake?" 

"Maybe a little," Angie nodded. "Let's just try the plain cakes." She clapped him on the shoulder, and tried to ignore how tensely he reacted. 

"As you wish," Will nodded, forced a smile, and walked up to the counter and away from her. "We'd like to sample some of your cakes, please." 

The proprietor, a tall man with dark hair and eyes, and a name tag that read  _ Marcus,  _ looked between them and lit up. "Oh, absolutely. I'll be right back." 

"He seems excited," Angie commented. "He must love his job." 

Will chuckled, but it was stunted and forced. 

Angie sighed. "Listen, Will. I don't know what's going on with you today, but--" 

She was cut off by Marcus, wheeling out a cart covered in samples, and a thick binder. "I'm back! I've got samples and our design binder. We have a lot of great designs, but we can also do something custom for you, if you'd like." 

Will nodded. "We were hoping to get a mirror glaze." 

Marcus furrowed his brow for a moment, before seemingly dismissing whatever confusion he'd had. "That's a unique choice, but I'm sure we can accommodate it." 

"Great. We want this to be perfect." 

"So," Angie gestured to the samples. "What are all these flavors?" 

"We've got white chocolate with raspberry filling and champagne icing, dark chocolate with butterscotch filling and chocolate ganache, a classic vanilla cake with a coconut buttercream, a lemon chiffon cake with lemon curd filling and a lemon buttercream, of course, our incredible milk chocolate mousse cake with chocolate buttercream" Marcus pointed to each cake as he described them. Angie only caught about half of what he said, but they all sounded amazing. A little fancy for a child's birthday party, but she could ask them to simplify one of the recipes. 

Will picked up the white chocolate cake with raspberry and champagne icing, and took a bite. "Oh, my God. Ange, you have to taste this." She opened her mouth, and he popped the rest of the sample onto her tongue. It was phenomenal. 

"Oh, wow." Angie chewed slowly, and savored every bite. "I mean, obviously we can't do the champagne frosting, but that is a strong contender." Angie picked up both the dark chocolate, and milk chocolate. Graham loved chocolate. 

A few moments later they had settled on a milk chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache in the middle. And, of course, the mirror glaze. 

"An excellent choice," Anthony nodded, and opened up the design binder. "Now, let's talk tiers." 

Angie froze as her eyes fell on the designs. They were all towering, multi-tiered, and gorgeous. They were all wedding cakes. 

"Oh, no, no," Will slammed the binder shut, and shoved it back into Anthony’s hands. "We're not--this isn't--I mean--it's not a wedding cake." 

"It's not?" Anthony blinked twice. 

"It's for my son's birthday," Angie informed him. "He's turning 10." 

"Oh, I see. My mistake." Anthony chuckled. "I watched you two walk in, and you seemed so in love that I thought you were engaged." 

Will's eyes widened in panic. "We're not, I'm not, we're not in love." 

"We're not together," Angie put a hand on her hip. "We're just good friends." 

Anthony flushed in embarrassment. "I see. I apologize for my assumptions." 

"You're lucky your cake is so good." Will said, chuckling lightly. "Otherwise we might take our business elsewhere for that." 

"Will," Angie put a hand on his arm. 

Will once again tensed under her touch. "Sorry.” 

"So," Angie turned towards Anthony. "We'd like to order one chocolate cake with a galaxy mirror glaze. And do you have any candles?” 

* * *

Will was somehow simultaneously exhausted, and wired. It was the morning of Graham’s party, and everything was ready--he and Angie had stayed up half the night making sure. There were purple and silver streamers (his idea) and a spotify playlist of kid-friendly party songs (Angie’s idea), and a truly frightening amount of snacks and junk food (a collaboration). The cake was already in the fridge, as he’d gotten up early to pick it up, before he came back to Angie’s house. All told, he got maybe 5 hours of sleep, and that was being generous. He should’ve been dead on his feet--and okay, he was--but he was also full of anxious energy. Being around Angie so much was wearing on his nerves. He was constantly on the edge of bursting, of letting his feelings come spilling out, and of probably ruining their friendship. 

No matter how strongly he felt for her, it wouldn’t be worth losing her friendship. 

So, there he was, putting out various snacks out onto Angie’s dining table (which was currently covered in a plastic, space-themed table cloth they’d picked up at a party store), pretending as best he could to be normal. He could do this. He could be normal for a day. He could get through this party. And then maybe he and Sophie would take a nice family trip somewhere, maybe they’d go up to Yosemite. Surely a week away would help him get his head straight, and Sophie would love it, and--

“Earth to Will?” Angie was standing in front of him, snapping her fingers. “You with us, buddy?” 

Will blinked. “Uh, yeah, yeah. Sorry. I’m a little distracted.” 

Angie smiled gently. “Don’t worry about it. We’re both a little tired. I was just letting you know that Graham and Sophie were playing with his Legos.” 

“Oh, good.” Will finished fiddling with the table arrangement, only somewhat satisfied with how it looked, but knowing it was the best he was going to be able to do. “What’s next?” 

“So, we have about ten minutes before the other kids get here. Poppy just texted me that she and Rory are on their way.” 

Will nodded and forced a grin. “Well, I think I’m all done here.” 

“Right,” Angie eyed his meticulous display. “Are you sure you’re okay? I know you’ve been doing a lot to help with this party, it’s okay if you need to take a break.” 

He should’ve known he couldn’t keep anything from her. “I promise, I’m fine. I’m a little tired, and I’ve got a lot on my mind. But the only thing you should be focused on is making sure your kid has the best birthday ever.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The party is a success. Will is stupid. Poppy is always right.

The party was a success. Graham, and all his guests, had a great time, and Angie had been on top of the world all day. And now, it was over, and the cleanup had begun. Douglas had dipped out first, followed shortly by Miggy (in his defense, Jack needed to be put down for a nap). So, it was just Poppy and Will helping Angie. Deep orange late afternoon light flooded the D’amato home as the three of them picked up paper cake plates and plastic soda cups. Will was working the kitchen, while Poppy and Angie took the living room area. 

“I gotta tell you, Ange, this was a great party.” Poppy smiled. “You really pulled it off.” 

Angie smiled brightly. “Thanks, but it was really all Will.” 

“Still,” Poppy nudged her shoulder. “You did good. And I’m sorry for what I said before, about the grocery store cake.” 

“It’s okay,” Angie shrugged. “You weren’t totally wrong. Like I said, it was all Will. He even bought the cake for me. I don’t know what I would’ve down without him.” 

Poppy gave Angie a knowing look. “Mmhmm, I noticed. You two have been pretty inseparable planning this.” 

“We spend a lot of time together anyway.” 

“Mmhmm,” Poppy nodded cryptically. “It sure was nice of Will to help out so much.” 

“Yeah…” Angie didn’t know why she suddenly felt nervous. “Will is a nice person.” 

“Oh, sure. Yeah. Will did this just because he’s nice. Not for any other reason.” She scoffed, dropping an empty cup that once held orange soda, into the garbage bag they were using for recyclables. “This is just what Will would do for any of his friends.” 

“What are you getting at?” 

“That Will is  _ clearly _ into you,” Poppy smirked. “And you’re into him.” 

“Oh, right,” Angie rolled her eyes. “Nothing says romance like planning a child’s birthday party together.” 

“Whatever you say.” Poppy didn’t sound convinced. 

“There’s nothing going on between me and Will,” Angie insisted, and thankfully Poppy dropped it after that. She stayed for another thirty minutes, before deciding it was time to take Rory home, and once again it was just Angie and Will, taking down the last of the streamers. 

They worked in silence, for the most part, both completely exhausted. Angie was almost ready to call it, send Will home, microwave some of the leftover pizza, and finish taking down the streamers later. But, of course, she pulled down one last streamer, and of course, she cut her finger on it. She let out a sharp hiss as the streamer sliced through her index finger. She winced, dropped the streamer, and popped her finger in her mouth. 

“You okay?” Will asked, looking up from his own pile of streamers a few feet away.

“Yeah,” she nodded, finger still in her mouth. “Papercut.”

“Oh, I’ve got some neosporin, if you—“

“Of course you do.” Angie rolled her eyes. “Be honest, do you carry it with you everywhere?”

Will laughed. “C’mon, Ange, this was a birthday party. Full of sugar. With  _ our _ kids.” He made his way over to her, yellow ointment tube already out.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Angie responded, but held her hand out towards him anyway.

Will took Angie’s hand in his own before speaking. “You can’t judge me for carrying around Neosporin when you’re the one benefitting from it.”

She scoffed, “It’s a paper cut. From streamers that were  _ your _ idea!”

Will applied the ointment and looked back up at her. “Hey, streamers are a birthday classic, and you said you wanted Graham to have a great birthday this year,  _ and  _ I’m helping you clean up, so I will not be blamed for this…” Will trailed off for a moment. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

She bit her lip, glanced down at their still interlocked hands, and felt herself blush slightly. “It’s nothing. So, am I good to go, Doctor?”

“Oh!” Will followed her gaze down, as if he was suddenly remembering he was holding her hand, and immediately dropped it. “Yeah, absolutely. All better.”

If Angie felt a pang of disappointment at the loss of contact, she elected to ignore it. “Thanks, Will.”

“Anytime.” Will turned on his heel, back towards his pile of neatly folded streamers, to save for the next party, and before Angie knew what she was doing she was grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

“Not for the Neosporin.”

“For what then?”

“For everything. For helping plan this party, and staying here to help clean up.” Angie took a deep breath. Poppy’s words rang in her head.  _ Is this really what Will would do for any of his friends? _ “You’re always there for me.”

Will smiled in that gentle, good-natured way of his, all soft blue eyes and crows feet. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Still.” She insisted, unable to find the words for what she wanted to say.  _ Is that all we are? Just friends?  _ Instead, she stood up on her tip-toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

“Angie…” Will hesitated.

Angie couldn’t breathe. “I—I don’t know why I did that. We should—we should get back to the streamers.” She turned back to her pile. 

“Right, right, but one thing first?” And then he was turning her back to face him, and then his lips were on hers. It was short and soft, uncertain, but hopeful. And it was enough for Angie to know that she was well and truly fucked. 

She couldn’t help the words that tumbled out when he pulled back. “I think you should go.” 

“Angie, please don’t push me away.” His blue eyes were wide with sadness and disappointment, pleading with her. 

“Will. I just can’t do this.” Angie shook her head, and took a step back from him. 

“Okay,” he finally said. “I’m sorry for pushing. I’ll give you some space.” 

As soon as he was gone, Angie collapsed. She knew she would have to fix Graham his dinner soon, and then get him showered and into bed. But if she stole one moment, to let her heart shudder, to ghost her fingers across her lips, and commit to memory the way it felt to kiss Will, how warm his face was, how the kiss tasted like root beer he’d pilfered from Sophie, and how much she wanted to kiss him and never stop, well. No one else needed to know that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The neosporin dialogue was the first thing I wrote for this fic, and all the rest of it exists purely to justify that scene.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the aftermath of the kiss, from Angie's POV

Angie called Poppy first thing the next morning. Well, okay, first thing after waking up at 11, taking an hour long shower, downing two cups of coffee, and handing Graham off to his dad for the day. She didn’t give Poppy too many details, just that she was having a crisis and needed a girl’s day to work things out. 

“I’m supposed to have lunch with Douglas.” 

“Well, cancel it!” Angie felt like she was going to explode. “This is way more important.” 

“Okay, you really need to calm the hell down.” Poppy’s voice was steady and firm, and almost calming. 

“You’re right,” Angie sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just totally freaking out. You can come over later in the afternoon, after your lunch.” 

“You wanna tell me what’s got you so twisted up?” 

“Not really. I mean, obviously, I want to talk about it.” Angie ran her palm down her face. “But I also just. I don’t know. Maybe it’s good you’re coming later.” 

“Alright, that explained literally nothing, but thanks.” 

“Just be here by 4, and bring wine.” 

“Day drinking? Oh boy.” Poppy’s voice dripped with disapproval. 

“Trust me, you’re gonna need the wine more than me.” 

“ _ Oh boy.”   
_

* * *

For as impossible as the words had seemed earlier, Angie couldn’t even wait for Poppy to be all the way in the door before everything was spilling out of her. “I kissed Will last night. Well, it was more like Will kissed me, but I didn’t stop him, and--”

“At least let me get in the house first, damn.” Poppy shook her head, stepping through the threshold into the D’Amato house, and handing Angie the requested bottle of wine.

“Sorry, I’m just kinda freaking out.” Angie admitted, carrying the wine to the counter, to open it, and pour it into the glasses she had ready. 

Poppy glanced at the large glass of wine Angie was pouring for herself. “I can see that.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking! I mean, it’s  _ Will _ .” Angie stopped pouring, and handed a glass to Poppy. “I can’t kiss Will.” 

“Okay, okay,” Poppy sipped her wine. “Tell me everything that happened.”

“It was just a little while after you had left, we were still taking down the streamers, and I got a paper cut, so he put some neosporin on it, and it was sweet, you know? He’s always sweet. I wanted to thank him for that. But I guess I got caught up in the moment. And so I kissed him on the cheek, which is so lame, and—” 

“You are  _ not  _ freaking out this bad over a  _ cheek _ kiss.” Poppy let out an exasperated sigh. 

Angie shook her head. “After that, there was a lip kiss.” At that, she picked up her wine and took a long swig. 

“And? Was it good? Who initiated? C’mon details.”

Angie’s face flushed. “He initiated. And it was nice. Short. Nothing to write home about.”

“Are you blushing?” Poppy’s eyes widened. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush before. You always said you were too Sicilian to blush, or something stupid like that.” 

Angie only blushed harder. “I’m not blushing.” 

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” Poppy smiled. “And right now, I can see that you are, like,  _ really _ into Will. Like,  _ really, really _ into him.” 

“Poppy!” Angie groaned. “You’re not helping. This isn’t about whether or not I ‘like’ Will. That has nothing to do with anything. It’s about how bad of an idea it would be for us to date.” 

“You’re crazy. You both clearly have feelings for each other, and he’s a good guy. You two would be good together. What’s the problem?”

“I…” Angie took a long sip of her wine. She knew Will was a good guy. But she’d thought a lot of guys were good guys. “Our kids are friends, for one.”

“I'm dating Douglas.”

“That’s different.” 

Poppy rolled her eyes. “It’s really not. Now tell me the goddamn truth about why you don’t want to go after a guy you clearly have feelings—“

“I’m scared!” Angie admitted, before letting out a long sigh. “I’m scared, okay? I don’t want to lose him. I  _ can’t. _ ” 

Poppy blinked twice, and looked taken aback. “What makes you think you’ll lose him?”

Angie hesitated. There were so many reasons. She was Angie D’amato. Most people eventually left her, once they realized what a mess she was. And losing Will would hurt most of all. But she couldn’t admit all that to Poppy. “Uh, maybe my entire relationship history?” 

Poppy really had the audacity to laugh at that. “You’re kidding me, right? We  _ are _ talking about Will Cooper, aren’t we? The same guy who screamed at your ex at a Drive Thru window for leaving you? The same Will Cooper who  _ literally _ found snow for your kid on Christmas? He’s nothing like the other guys you’ve dated.” 

Angie had to admit that Poppy had a point. But still. “I probably already ruined things. I sort of kicked him out last night after he kissed me.” 

Poppy shook her head. “Again, it’s  _ Will _ . You said it yourself that he’s your best friend. He already knows that you’re a mess, and he still thinks you’re great. He’s not going to leave you for being afraid. And honestly?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I don’t think he’d leave you for anything.” 

Angie groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know, Poppy.” 

Poppy set down her glass of wine. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life wondering? Do you want to watch Will move on to someone else? I know it’s scary, Angie. But sometimes in life you have to take risks, if you want to be happy.” 

Angie was quiet for a moment. Maybe Poppy was right. Will was her best friend. He  _ already _ knew all of her flaws, and he...he still wanted her. Or, at least, it sure seemed like he did. At the very least, he still wanted to be her friend. His words from almost a year prior floated to the top of her mind. 

_ Not everyone leaves.  _

Finally, she turned back to her friend. “Why do you always have to be right?” 

Poppy shrugged. “Someone has to be.” 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No idea why I never posted this. Been written for months now lmao. Anyways enjoy the end!

Will was an idiot. An absolute moron. Just the stupidest man to ever walk planet Earth. What had possessed him to just  _ kiss _ Angie like that? Who in their right mind kisses their best friend? What kind of dumbass does that? 

Will Cooper, apparently. 

He could blame it on the sleep deprivation, or the way she’d looked at him right before it happened, or any number of things, really. But the truth was, he’d done it because he’d wanted to, because he was, as it turned out, very bad at keeping his feelings to himself. 

And now, Angie was upset with him. It has been over twenty four hours of radio silence, which couldn’t be good. As much as he wanted to believe that things could go back to normal by Monday morning drop off the next day, he knew that was probably asking too much. Knowing Angie, things were probably going to be weird for awhile. Which sucked. He wished he could take back his actions from the day before. He wished that he didn’t have these feelings for his best friend. More than anything, though, he was itching to reach out to her, but he knew that he needed to wait for her to be ready to talk to him. So, he sat on his couch, his phone next to him, watching mindless television, and attempting not to think about it. 

Clearly, he was doing a great job. 

He was just about to give up, and just go to bed early, when he heard a familiar, quick knock at his front door. He chest tightened, but he paused the TV, and hopped up to answer the door, all the same. 

Angie looked a little frazzled, nervous, even. She was fidgeting with the belt loops on her jeans, and looking down at her shoes. “Um,” she started. “Hi.” 

“Hey.” Will stepped back a bit. “Do you, uh, want to come in?” 

Angie nodded and followed him in. “Sorry, that I didn’t call before coming over.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” He guided her to his couch, remembering when she’d done the same for him on Valentine’s Day. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, I mean, kind of?” Angie frowned. “Not really.” 

“Ange, listen, I’m so sorry for what happened last night.” Will shook his head. “I was totally out of line, and your friendship means everything to me, and I hope I didn’t--” 

“Shut up, Will.” But Angie was smiling. 

Will snapped his mouth shut. 

Angie took a deep breath before starting to speak. “I’m sorry that I sent you away last night--” 

“It’s totally f--” 

“Will, please. Just let me talk, okay?” There was that nervousness again. 

“Sorry.” 

“Last night, when you kissed me. It...It scared me.” Angie swallowed hard, like the words were hard for her to get out. “It scared me because...because people leave me, Will. I mean, you know my relationship history better than anyone. And the common denominator in all those messes has been me.” 

“Ange...” Will didn’t know what to say. 

“I can’t go through that with you Will. You mean too much to me.” She let out a small laugh. “I mean, hell, you’re my best friend. You’re one of the most important people in my life. And the thought of losing you…” She hesitated for a moment, before plowing on. “As much as it hurt to lose Derek, or any of those others, it would hurt so much more to lose you.” 

Will’s heart was pounding a mile a minute, as he took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly, and attempted to reassure her. “Angie, you’re never going to lose me, I promise. I’m always going to be here for you, in whatever way you’ll have me. No matter what.” 

Angie smiled, and squeezed his hand back. “I know. That’s why I’m here, Will.” 

“I...What are you saying?” A small bubble of hope formed in Will’s chest. 

“I’m saying that I love you, that I’m  _ in _ love with you. And I’m fucking terrified. But someone once told me that not everyone leaves, and I think he might’ve been right.” 

Will’s entire mouth was suddenly dry, and his mind was completely blank, except for one thought that replayed over and over again. Angie was in love with him. _Angie was in love with him._ **_Angie wanted to be with him._**

“Uh, Will? Earth to Will?” Angie waved a hand in front of his face. “Please say something.” 

He blinked twice. “Angie, I...I’m in love with you, too. God, of course I am.” 

Angie beamed. “You’d better be. I don’t talk about emotions with just anyone.” 

Will snorted. “Ange--” But he was cut off, by her lips on his. This kiss was different from the first, which had been so uncertain, and impulsive. This kiss was confident, and sure. There was no questioning, just the overwhelming feeling of rightness, that Will felt right down to the tips of his toes. He and Angie just  _ fit _ . They always had. 

When they eventually came up for air, cheeks flushed and grinning ear to ear, she leaned her forehead against his. “I love you,” she said again, quietly, voice thick with emotion. 

And Will, God help him, he actually giggled. “I love you, too.” 

“Did you just  _ giggle _ ?” Angie pulled away from him, or at least, she tried to. He tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her forward, so she was practically sitting in his lap. She didn’t fight it, instead electing to wrap her arms around his neck. 

“I’m happy, babe. Sue me.” 

Angie raised an eyebrow. “Babe?” 

“No good?” Will almost giggled again. “I got more. Honey? Sweetheart? Sugar? Snookums? Sweetie? Lovebug? Love Doodle? Cupcake?” 

“Those are all disgusting,” Angie shook her head. “Is it too late to just be friends?” 

Will pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Oh, maybe just a little bit. Considering all the kissing. And the love confessions. Kind of hard to come back from that.” 

Angie huffed, but she could barely pretend to be annoyed, before a smile started pushing its way through. “You may have a point. Which is good, because I never want to go back.” She was fully smiling now, her hazel eyes soft and warm. “So, I guess you can call me “babe” if you want, as long as we’re together.” 

“Damn, D’amato, when did you get so soft?” 

Angie’s voice was suddenly quiet. “I think it was about when I met you.” 


End file.
